Mamma Mia Musical Production Takes Stage at ISF

After nearly eight months of hard work, 22 ISF Secondary students had their first Highlights of Mamma Mia performance on Thursday, May 27th at the ISF Theatre. Under the guidance of Mr. Waddell, Ms. Yildiz, Mr. Williams and Ms. Ormerod, and the incredible help of the Parent Network Costume Department, it was possible to put together an amazing show. The show is based on the West End musical from 1999, and the ISF crew made some chances to adapt it to our students.

If you are interested in watching Highlights of Mamma Mia at your school, there are still tickets available for the performance on Saturday, May 29th at 7pm. Tickets are available at ISF reception and at the door of the theatre.

Synopsis
Set on a colorful Greek island, the plot serves as the background for a wealth of ABBA songs. Sophie, a 20-year old bride-to-be finds in her mother's diary that one of the following men, Sam, Harry or Bill might be her father. She invites all three to the wedding without telling her mother, Donna. Donna, who was once the lead singer of “Donna and the Dynamos.” owns a simple hotel on the island and used to sing with her friends Rosie and Tanya, who also arrive in Kalokairi for the wedding. Sophie dreams of having her father walk with her to the altar at her wedding with Sky on the Greek Kalokairi Island and she invites the three men to her wedding as if she were her mother, Donna. Mayhem ensues when her mother discovers her three former lovers on the island!

ISF Sommerfest Coming Soon to an Awesome School Near You!

On Saturday 12th June, ISF will host its annual Sommerfest from 12:00 – 17:00 hrs.

Plenty of fun for everyone:
Soccer, basketball, waveboards
Beat the teachers at beach volleyball!
Sample the culinary delights in the cafeteria.
Watch the World Cup on the big screen.
Win a prize in the Kenya raffle.
Pick up your free gift from Marketing.
Enter our competition to win an unforgettable prize!
And of course.…ISF’s got Talent!

Inkwell goes on Sale at Sommerfest

The 2010 Inkwell Magazine of the Arts with short stories, artwork, poems, photography and a special music CD with original student and teacher music will go on sale at the Sommerfest and during the month of June for 8 Euros. This 6th edition of the Inkwell Magazine of the Arts is brought to you by enthusiastic writers, artists and musicians in Grades 4 through 12. This year’s Inkwell offers artistic diversity from Malaysia to the North Pole, from Hindi to French, from Mickey Mouse to Clouds, from Evil to Passion, to a bench in Frankfurt. We hope you will enjoy the result of a year’s hard work by the dedicated Inkwell Editorial Staff!

Blown by the Wind

During ISF's Track & Field competition week (May 6-10), ISF students from grades 6 – 10 were not only had to compete against their classmates but also a strong and cold wind. The students had to participate in three events: 100m, shot put and long jump. The entire week’s weather conditions weren’t supportive to the students, but they did a great job managing the difficult circumstances. Many thanks go to Uli Groh, who supported us with her womanpower during that cold week. ISF prepared its students three weeks before the event, during luckier weather days with the higher temperatures and sun.

The best participants have been invited to join the GISST Track & Field team June 4-5 in Berlin. This was ISF's second year running the event, and we had a few new overall records this year.

100m:  Grade 7 Robin D. with 14.03 seconds and Natascha S. with 15.32 seconds
Shot Put: Grade 8 Kevin E. 10.40m (3kg) and Grade 10 Maud S. 8,04m (3kg)
Long Jump: Grade 7 Alice K. 4.10m, Grade 8 Ha Yoon S. 3.70m, Grade 9
Catherine V. 4.15m and Grade 10 Philipp P. 5.20m.  Overall a successful event competitively despite basic preparation against international schools nationwide.

ISF Mini-Olympics

The Student Life Organization™ will be holding an afternoon of fun on Thursday, May 20th from 16:30 to 18:30 on the field. The afternoon will be a ‘Mini-Olympics’ with track and field finals for grades 5-12 and novelty events for all. There will also be a BBQ and school bands, as well as the popular ‘throw a wet sponge at a teacher’.  Ouch!

Period 10 Sportverein Soccer and Track and Field activities will be cancelled on this day.  We hope you will be able to come along and enjoy the wonderful atmosphere.

National Merit Scholarship Corporation Commends Zainab M.

Zainab M., Grade 11, has qualified with her 2009 PSAT results to enter the 2011 National Merit Scholarship Program. She is among the 50,000 highest-scoring participants of some 1.5 million PSAT test takers in October 2009 worldwide. As she has qualified in the top 3% of PSAT candidates, she now has the opportunity to enter the College Reporting Service program to send off her results through CollegeBoard to her two top choice universities.

Zainab wishes to study Pre-Med as an undergraduate followed by studies at Medical School to then begin her career as a physician. She will complete a three-week internship in a cardiologist’s practice in Texas this summer as well as attend a summer medical program at Brown University. Zainab has replied this week to the National Merit Scholarship Program and selected Brown University and the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor as her top choice universities for entry in 2011.

Teachers and Present ISF's International Charity Projects at International Stammtisch as well as Entertain

On Monday, May 3, ISF hosted the International Stammtisch which meets once a month at the English Theatre. This year, ISF presented various international projects in which the school is involved to around 80 Stammtisch regulars and newcomers. Ms. Korkmaz, Ms. O’Rourke and Ms. Gilon from the Kenya Project gave a PowerPoint presentation on our most successful and longest-running project, illustrating how we have been supporting the Chitsanze school in Kenya for the past 10 years. They were followed by G11 students, Erin H. and Leo E., who described their experiences working on the Habitat for Humanity project helping manually construct a house in Portugal for a family in need. They not only gained CAS points for the project as part of their IB Diploma, but also an invaluable insight into the true nature of philanthropy, which has had a profound effect on their outlook on life.

Jennifer K. from G9 then talked about her fundraising efforts to start a“Girls for Plan” foundation to improve the future of girls in Africa. With a fashion show featuring clothes from top Frankfurt designers, an entertainment evening at ISF with performances by staff and students as well as various other events, she has managed to raise a considerable amount of money, and has even appeared in an article in the Frankfurter Rundschau.

Stars from Mamma Mia rounded off the evening with a few hits from the upcoming school musical to resounding applause from the audience. The buffet was sponsored in part by the Koh Samui Thai restaurant in Frankfurt. Stammtisch guests then had the opportunity to mingle with ISF staff and students and learn more about the school and its projects. All in all it was a very successful evening and we would like to thank all staff and students involved as well as those who came along to support us.

1st Annual World Soccer Tourney Held

ISF hosted the 1st Annual World Soccer tournament last Friday afternoon. Teams from 4 different schools participated. Members from the ISF Boys Varsity Soccer Team placed third out of 11 teams. A big thank you goes out to Mr.  Blatherwick and Mr. Skenderovic for being our invaluable referees. The SLO™ team would also like to thank Mrs. Groh and her Sportsverein staff for constantly helping us to put on successful events. Evan M. and his SLO™ Prefects are congratulated for realizing this event and pulling it off in grand fashion. We thank all participants of this event and hope to see everyone out at the ISF Olympics in two weeks.

ISF IGCSE Best in Germany and Best in World Awards

We are very pleased to be able to announce that six of our students were honoured in seven different subjects with the Cambridge Outstanding Achiever Awards, Germany. This award was based on their performance in the IGCSE examinations last summer. This means that these students were the highest performing students in Germany in these prestigious examinations. We are delighted and proud that so many ISF students have achieved this outstanding level in such a wide range of subjects.  The students so honoured were Harrison B. in Physics and Chemistry; Nam-Yun K. in Mathematics; Rashi S. in First Language English; Armando B. in First Language Spanish; Konstantin S. in First Language German, and Casey S. in Foreign Language German.  These awards are another testimony to the success of ISF and of the SABIS® school system. ISF would like to offer our congratulations to these students and our congratulations and thanks to their dedicated teachers.

If that wasn't enough, ISF had an even more remarkable student achievement. Each year the IGCSE Board in Cambridge makes awards to the top three students in the world in any IGCSE subject. We are delighted to be able to announce that two ISF students have been ranked among the top three in the world in their IGCSE examinations.  Jae Ick S. has been graded as the best in the world in First Language Korean and Konstantin S. gained the second highest mark in the world in First Language German. Both students were awarded an impressive certificate from Cambridge and an Amazon book voucher to the value of 50 pounds sterling. ISF School Director Angus Slesser sent his congratulations to Jae Ick and his family who are back in South Korea, and he was very happy to be able to give Konstantin his certificate personally.  Our sincere congratulations should go to these two students and of course to their teachers.

For more information about the IGCSEs and ISF performance results in other external exams, please click here.

Teacher vs Student Basketball

On Thursday, April 22nd the SLO™ Sports Department ran a student vs teacher Basketball match in the gymnasium after school. It was a fantastic afternoon full of school spirit and friendly rivalry with the students taking the teachers to their full capacity. In the end the teachers won by 2 points with a final score of 71-73. There was some fantastic play by both teachers and students with standout performances from Casey S., Adrian K. and Maud S. on the student team, Mr. Kulbeida and Mr. Lauder for the teachers. The afternoon was a fantastic event that we hope will be repeated in many future rivalries.

University Acceptances around the World for ISF in Variety of Studies

This past month acceptance letters from universities in the United States and other countries outside Europe have arrived in Grade 12 students’ mailboxes. One student wishing to study Biotechnology has been offered a $2000 scholarship to study at Case Western University, an $8000 scholarship to study at Wayne State University and an acceptance at Michigan Tech. Another applicant to study Computer Science now has acceptances to the University of Illinois at Urbana, Purdue University, University of California, San Diego (Revelle College), and Rensselaer Polytechnic University.

Two students have been accepted at universities in Canada, one to study Psychology at the University of British Columbia with a $500 President’s Entrance Scholarship as well as at University of Toronto and University of York. A second student has been accepted to study Music and English at University of Calgary and University of Waterloo. Another Grade 12 Art student has an unconditional acceptance at Lasalle University in Singapore to study Art and Design. All grade 12 students who have applied to universities now have received acceptances and conditional offers with an impressive list of top world universities which ISF students will attend next year.

ISF Open Meeting and Inauguration of the New Building and ITL Hall

On Monday evening an audience of parents and staff attended the ISF 2010 Open Meeting. They heard Mr. Carl Bistany, the President of SABIS® give a presentation where he began by giving an update on the SABIS® School Network and then showed how SABIS® Schools use data as “The Key to Success”.

Mr. Slesser then delivered his annual “School Report” and he was followed by two ISF SLO® Prefects, Erika B. and Alyssa K. who gave a presentation entitled: “What SLO® Gives to Students and the Community”. After the presentations, the new building was opened officially by Dr. Stoll-Steffan, Mr. Slesser and Mr. Bistany. Parents and staff were able to visit the new ITL room and experience a SABIS® ITL Computer test. The evening was most informative and entertaining.

Spring Book Fair and "Dr. Seuss" Coming to ISF Library

Mark your calendars for our library spring book fair. With lots and lots of German and English books, new and second hand. It will take place from Thursday, March 18 to Friday, March 19 from 14:30-16:30 hrs.

Also to honour Dr. Seuss and all the great books he wrote, the library will have special Dr. Seuss days on March 8, 9 and 10.  Several activities will be organised for KG and grade 1 - 3, including a colouring and poetry contest where students can win great prizes. During these days the library will have special after school events (starting 15.20hrs) like storytelling time, Dr. Seuss games etc.

Post-Event Report:  Loads and loads of nice pictures, poems and other artwork were handed in to the library for its Dr. Seuss contest.   It was very difficult to judge prize winners because there were many nice submissions to choose from.  In the end, it was decided to give prizes to: Min-Kyoung K. (KG2B), Hee Sung L. (1D), Lion V. (2C) and Vincent E. (3B).  The class awards went to: KG1A, KG2B, 1A and 2A. Congratulations to all of you!

ISF Students Volunteer in Portugal for ‘Habitat for Humanity'

In February, 12 students from ISF travelled to Braga, Portugal, to support the internationally-recognized charity ‘Habitat for Humanity’ (HFH). The students came together to begin preparation and fundraising early in September and spent 5 months seeking corporate sponsorship and learning about what their team experience in Braga would consist of.

ISF's team of enthusiastic and committed grade 11 and 12 students were very successful in raising over 9000€ to cover their costs and donation to HFH. ISF and its grade 11 and 12 student volunteerswould like to thank the following sponsors for their support: Boehringer Ingelheim, Lipkau Family, Nestle, W+P Versicherungsmakler GmbH, Andreas Wutschke Versicherungsmakler GmbH, Dr Herzog, P. Herzog von Württemberg, WDV Photo Studio, ISF Marketing, SABIS Student Life Organization®, Gerrit Niehaus, and Lufthansa.

The time on the building site proved to be an incredible feat of endurance and team work for the group. The students worked alongside each other to dig, pour concrete, cut wire and lay rocks together under the guidance of the Portuguese site manager. It became part of the fun to communicate without a common language. On completion of the week the students were ecstatic to see that the foundations of the house had been laid, and they personally felt a great sense of achievement and self respect.

Congratulations to Felix W., Anna G., Maddalena F., Jin Woo L., Erika B., Anna H., David E., Marieta H., Sang Hoon K., Erin H., Leonard E., and Jeongwhan O. for a wonderful effort and for showing the best of themselves everyday!

The work in progress:
  

ISF Annual Lower Secondary Science Fair Coming Soon to an Awesome School Near You!

We are proud to announce that our annual Lower Secondary Science Fair will take place this year on Saturday, April 24, 10:00-12:00. Participation is optional and all students will receive SLO points for their involvement. Prizes will be awarded to top projects and certificates of participation will be given to all students. This exciting event encourages students to think like young scientists. The educational benefits are numerous, as students develop skills in writing, oral presentation, creative thinking, and problem solving.

This is also a unique opportunity for students to develop many cross-curricular skills and take a hands-on approach to learning and science. The Science Fair this year is being organized by Mr. Gencer. Students who wish to participate are required to attend information meetings that take place every Tuesday 14:15-14:35 in the theatre. During the meetings, all interested students will receive from Mr. Gencer detailed information packages with a topic proposal form. Most of the work will be completed at home, and students will receive notice of important due dates for each part of the project.

We ask that you encourage your child to participate and monitor his or her progress along the way. Your support is key to a successful project, but please limit your involvement in order to assure equity and promote student learning. It is important that your child struggle with problems and try to solve them. Guide your child whenever and wherever you can, but let the final project reflect your child’s individual effort and design. Also, keep in mind that a successful project can be completed for less than 10 Euros.

Further information will be provided as the event approaches. Please contact Mr. Tobias if you have any questions. We are looking forward to watching your child enjoy this unique opportunity for scientific discovery!

Upper Secondary Students Attend American Colleges Overseas Fair at ISF

Representatives from eight American universities in Europe visited the ISF campus last Friday, February 26th, to present their programs and allow students to visit their tables, collecting information on courses and admission requirements. These colleges situated in some of the most beautiful European cities including Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Brussels, London, Bremen and Vienna offer American style degree programs accredited either in the United States or have state recognition in their host countries, with English as the language of instruction. All of the institutions offer degree programs that parallel those of colleges and universities in the USA, both in their flexible structures and in their approach to teaching: small classes, high professor/student ratios, participatory classroom experiences and extensive travel programs. Their student bodies are very diverse, continuing the truly international learning environment students experience at ISF.

Approximately 100 Grade 10, 11 and 12 students attended this event and crowded the tables, asking the representatives from the American University of Paris, Jacobs University Bremen, Vesalius College Brussels, Touro College Berlin, Saint Louis University Madrid, Webster University Vienna/Geneva/Leiden, Hult Business School London and American International University London their many questions. As explained to our students, it is important to attend these college visits to begin university research, learn to speak with and ask questions to university admissions tutors, and collect information on courses they may be interested in. With competition for university admission worldwide so intense, it is smart to cast the net wide to look at interesting opportunities both locally as well as on the international market to find the best university”fit”.

Thank You for Visiting ISF International Day 2009!

Over 1100 people attended ISF´s International Day last Saturday, February 20th. For four hours, ISF became a cultural learning place as students, parents, and visitors explored the focus country rooms, participated in Sports Spass events (traditional sports from the featured countries), viewed theatre performances, attended a police dog presentation, and ate wonderful self-made cakes from our countless volunteers. Children turned in approximately 300 completed ISF passports for the Tombola, and thanks to our many sponsors and vendors, a lot of them received great prizes.

Again, we would like to offer our thanks to the hard work of the five focus countries: Australia, China, Japan, Kenya and Turkey as well as our ISF parents, students, teachers, students, staff and many others involved. Working together, we made this event a success.

International Day is a school-wide festival primarily designed to help the entire ISF community learn about different cultures. Equipped with a “passport,” students visit classrooms decorated as a focus country.

Thanks to everyone who helped, particularly the Parent Network and special thanks to Panagiota Navrozidis, the Parent Network representative responsible for coordinating with all the parent volunteers!

ISF 1st Annual Trivia Challenge

On Thursday, February 4th, the SLO™ Academics department hosted the first annual ISF Trivia Challenge in the large cafeteria. A Trivia challenge is a quiz night where a variety of questions are asked in sections such as music, history, science, and politics, to teams consisting of students, teachers and parents. For each section, points are allocated for correct answers and thus the champions identified. After 10 rounds the team ‘Unbeatables’ proved themselves as the ISF Trivia Challenge champions for 2009-10. Team members were: Asier C., Jakub M., Sanket D., Leon W., Nelson H., Mr Walbrodt, and Mr Rees, predominantly from Grade 7.

Overall, the event was a huge success and a big congratulation goes out to the winning team who will be back next year to defend their title and the ISF Trivia Challenge inaugural trophy. Also, a big thank you to the SLO™ Academic department for running the event so smoothly, and to our guest musicians, Aziz U. and Pierre O. We hope to see you all there next year to try and steal the title!

Fashion Show Raises 1400€ for West African Victims

A fashion show was hosted on Saturday, January 16th by the Girls for Plan Group. Top designers such as Rene Storck and St Emile presented their new collections for the upcoming season. With a cover charge of 10 Euros, the Girls for Plan Group successfully raised 1400 EUR. The money goes towards the opening of a foundation for girls who have suffered from circumcision in West Africa. They presented to the audience on that evening how well charity and fashion go together hand in hand.

2nd Annual Alumni Reception at ISF

On Wednesday, January 6th, 40 former ISF graduates from previous years gathered for the Second Annual Alumni Reception in the New Sports Cafeteria. Students from universities around the world met to talk about old times at ISF and chat with their former teachers. Several students have now completed their studies and will begin graduate work in Economics, Ancient History and Law. 

Other students are in their first or second year at university and report they are doing well academically, many of them at the top of their classes. Some of the many universities attended by the ISF Alumni present on Wednesday include Georgetown University, Durham University (“The best choice of my life! Durham is the place to be!”), Lehigh University in Pennsylvania (“I am working on the landing gear for the new NASA Space Hopper project!”), University of Warwick, University of Heidelberg (“I didn’t know it would be so tough! I love ISF!”), University of Edinburgh (“I am so happy with my choice. The Scots are so friendly!”), and University of Aberdeen (“Fun!”).

Vivian Sasu, Lilli Weil, Sophie Württemberg and Angela Nyaghuti organized this event as part of their IB CAS project and did an outstanding job of contacting our alumni via Facebook, inviting our teachers and organizing decorations and refreshments. Thank you to Viviane and her IB CAS team!

GISST Housing for Swim Meet 11th / 12th December 2009

On Friday 11th December and Saturday 12th December, a GISST swim meet was held at ISF. The housing of nearly 60 athletes was required for this event and was successfully carried out by some of the ISF community. On behalf of ISF, its Sportverein and the visiting athletes from Bonn and Berlin, we would like to give a very BIG THANK YOU to all those families who housed. The housing team was very privileged to work with such a warm, organized and helpful group of volunteers who helped tremendously to make the job of housing the athletes run smoothly. Extra special thanks go to those families who at the very last minute had to rearrange their housing offers to adapt to the visiting schools’ requirements – we really appreciated that!

We are looking forward to working with you all again in January (29th/30th) at the GISST swim finals where these schools and at least 5 more will again need housing. We would like to share a comment made be the Head GISST Coach Lisa Johnson who was present at the event this weekend who said that:“the reports about the housing were excellent.”  This was all thanks to you as volunteers for providing warm and welcome environments for our visitors, thank you!

We would also like to thank all those families who offered to house and were not required due to the cancellation of 5 schools.  If you did not volunteer or take part in this event but would like to volunteer to house for the event in January (29th/30th) 2010, please e-mail sportsverein[at]isf-sabis.net or fill out a housing request form from next to reception.

Sinterklaas Makes Annual Trip to ISF

Organized by the Dutch and Belgium parents at ISF, Sinterklaas made his annual visit to ISF Friday, 4 December.  All students in KG through Grade 2, and well-behaved staff and administration, received a small bag of typical Dutch goodies; called "Pepernoten," "Kruidnoten" and "Schuimpjes."

The Feast of Sinterklaas, or St. Nicholas, is an annual event which has been uniquely Dutch and Flemish for centuries. St. Nicholas' Feast Day, December 6th, is observed in most Roman Catholic countries primarily as a feast for small children. But it is only in the Low Countries - especially in the Netherlands - that the eve of his feast day (December 5th) is celebrated nationwide by young and old, Christian and non-Christian, and without any religious overtones. Although Sinterklaas is always portrayed in the vestments of the bishop he once was, his status as a canonized saint has had little to do with the way the Dutch think of him. Rather, he is a kind of benevolent old man, whose feast day is observed by exchanging gifts and making good-natured fun of each other. It so happens that the legend of St. Nicholas is based on historical fact. He did actually exist. He lived from 271 A.D. to December 6th, 342 or 343. His 4th century tomb in the town of Myra, near the city of Anatolia in present-day Turkey, has even been dug up by archaeologists.

ISF has a Happy Birthday

During staff training day on 23 November, ISF celebrated the fifteenth year in its history, and all staff enjoyed a slice of delicious birthday cake cut by School Director Angus Slesser and the quartet of staff who have been here since the first days of the school.  Happy 15th Birthday ISF!

ISF International Day on February 20th, 2010

International Day at ISF will take place on Saturday, February 20th, 2010 from 13:00-17:00 hrs. This school-wide festival is primarily designed to help students (and parents) learn about different cultures. Equipped with a “passport,” students will visit classrooms decorated as a focus country. This year, the focus countries are Australia, China, Japan, Kenya and Turkey.

In addition to the decorated focus country rooms, each country will have a brief performance in the theater. The gymnasium will offer games from each country and the students can join the “Sport Spaß” (fun). Other offered activities are “Kids Craft Corner,” face painting and a visit by the local police department, while parents can buy books at the library books sale, and stroll through the International Marketplace. For all the hungry visitors, coffee and cake as well as hot dogs & hamburgers will be available in the beautifully-decorated cafeteria.

We look forward to this event!

Diwali Celebrated at ISF

A big thanks to the Indian parents and students for organizing the wonderful celebration for the Diwali festival.  Thanks to Mrs. Gupta for organizing the event. The decoration in the mall area was superb and gave a feeling of sharing, happiness and good spirits.  Special thanks to the students from Grades 2-6 for presenting the traditional Indian dance.

ISF Secondary Drama Troupe present Anne of Green Gables

Anne of Greene Gables was first written as a fictional novel for readers of all ages. Montgomery found her inspiration for the book in a newspaper article describing a couple that was mistakenly sent an orphan girl instead of a boy, yet deciding that they would keep her. Montgomery drew upon her own childhood experiences in rural Prince Edward Island, Canada.

Montgomery used a photograph of Evelyn Nesbit, clipped from a magazine, as the model for Anne Shirley, the book and play’s protagonist. Anne of Green Gables has not only been presented as a novel, but also as a hit musical and a dramatic play as well. The ISF students who starred in the production on Wednesday 02 December and Thursday 03 December were: Zena V., Steffen G., Mhairi L., Thomas F., Stephanie R., Kevin W., Franziska G., Louise O., Titikshaa B., Nicoline K., Philipp B., Nino O., Rafaela N., Caitlin B., Catherine W., Capicine B., Maximilian D., Samantha K., Sophia S. and Keeley M. Come and share in viewing the life adventures of Anne of Green Gables!

ISF's Next Open House

On Saturday, March 20th, 2010 ISF will hold an Open House for interested families.  It will take place from 13:00-16:00 hrs, and presentations will be given at 13:30 h and 14:30.  Each presentation is followed by a tour of the school. 

If you cannot attend, if your needs are more immediate or if you know you would already like an individual consultation, please call +49 69 3482970 for an appointment. Everyone is welcome.

Excellent Examination Results Again for ISF...Across the Board

"ISF has an enviable reputation for excellent examination results," said ISF School Director Angus Slesser, "and I am pleased to say that our results this year have maintained our excellent reputation." This year, ISF presented its first pupils for the International Baccalaureate Diploma examinations and is pleased to announce its results were also very good indeed. 86% of ISF grade 12-13 pupils were awarded the IB Diploma and 94% of diplomas awarded in ISF were the more challenging Bilingual Diplomas in German/English. Other pupils were awarded IB Diploma certificates and in total 83% of our pupils fulfilled the criteria to gain the German Abitur, in addition to the IB Diploma.

ISF had a small number of pupils taking A Level, offered by the Edexcel Board in England, in Maths where ISF achieved a 100% pass rate, with a 100% scoring the highest grade of A. Only one pupil sat AS Level maths and scored the second highest grade of B.

In the Advanced Placement (AP) examinations, offered by the College Board in the USA and taken by pupils in grade 12, ISF had a 100% pass rate with a remarkable 47% of all grades being the highest grade of 5.

In the IGCSE examinations, offered by the Cambridge Board (CIE) in England and taken in grades 10 and 11, ISF pupils recorded a 91% pass rate with almost half of the grades scored (49%) being the top grades of A*-A.

As a matter of fact, 41% of the university applicants in the Class of 2009 will be studying at such prestigious universities as Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg for Medicine (2 students), Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, Universität Konstanz for Financial Mathematics and Technische Universität Darmstadt for Physics. This year 3000 students applied to European Business School Schloss Reichartshausen and 250 students were accepted, two of them from ISF.

Three students will study Chemistry, one at Hochschule Fresenius, others at Johann Wolfgang Goethe Universität Frankfurt and Universität Duisburg-Essen. Another student will study Mathematics at Technische Universität Aachen and one International Business and Spanish at Munich Business School. In addition, several students will begin their careers in Hotel Management.

Upper Primary Lock-in

The Grade 5 and 6 Lock-In occurred Friday October 30th. The event was a great success. Students spent the night playing sports in the gym and dancing at the on-site disco. Mr. Dean supervised the fun in the pool while other students watched movies or enjoyed Mr. Price’s card tricks. Sodexo provided pizza for a much needed midnight snack, and the Parent Network sponsored a great breakfast in the morning. Thank you to all the SLO™ Prefects who helped plan and set up the event; as well as the teacher chaperons and Hausmeister. Get ready for the Lower Secondary Lock-In in February!

Habitat for Humanity

For February break, twelve students from grade 11 have committed to travel to Portugal and support the internationally-recognized charity ‘Habitat for Humanity’ (HFH). HFH is a non-profit organization dedicated to providing safe and secure housing for people in need around the world with the help of Philanthropic groups and individuals from all walks of life. It is a hands on project where the students spend 3 months raising money for materials and then, alongside the residence's family, help build the house. This is an extremely valuable project for both the community of Braga Portugal and ISF students. The groups are very enthusiastic and motivated to raise the 8000€ needed and cannot wait to volunteer in February. If you would like to make a donation or sponsor our fantastic group of students, please contact eyildiz[at]isf-sabis.net.

ISF Keeps Growing!

With the completion of the new school building, ISF has enlarged its Campus with a new highlight. Taking into consideration the running school operation, the three story building has been constructed fully functional within only a few months time (June to September) including the complete interior design. The building meets the high energetic demands of the new energy saving law“Energieeinsparverordnung” (EnEV2009) with regard to the thermal frame and the innovative systems engineering having a cost-saving maintenance. The heat supply operates with a high-quality air-water-heat pump (no fossil burning is needed). An intelligent system control chills down effectively even higher heating loads (from computer operation or summer input), is cost saving and creates a comfortable indoor temperature. Thus a sustainable and trend-setting building was constructed which underlines a responsible handling of resources.

The new ITL building hosts 2 classrooms, 5 multipurpose-rooms, 2 offices, and the heart of the building - a 200 m² SABIS® Integrated Testing and Learning Hall. Before the building can be handed over to the ISF students and teachers, the construction work has to be approved by the authorities and the fire-protection installation has to be completed. Both are planned for the last week of October or beginning of November. The opening ceremony for our students will be announced in due time. Parents, students and teachers will celebrate together the inauguration of the new building.

ISF Shines at Newcomers Festival

On Sunday, 4 October 2009, ISF proudly participated in the Newcomers Festival, held in Frankfurt City Hall (Römer).  A festival designed to offer quick and easy access to a plethora of services, English-speaking clubs, and organizations in the Rhein-Main region. Several ISF students, performing some of their Community/Action/Service (CAS) hours toward their International Baccalaureate Diploma, represented ISF and distributed information about ISF to many interested visitors; they even got to meet the new U.S. Consul General, Edward M. Alford, his wife and the Frankfurt City Treasurer, Uwe Becker, as they stopped at the ISF table.

In addition to the exhibitors, the festival offered a wide variety of live entertainment throughout the day. The entertainment program started off with two Grade 12 ISF students. Sang Hyun Chun, the winner of the ISF Sommerfest Talent Show, performed his winning “beat boxing”, a form of vocal percussion which primarily involves the art of producing drum beats, rhythm, and musical sounds using one's mouth, lips, tongue, and voice. Sophie Buchwald enchanted the crowd with her presentation of the song “All that Jazz” from the musical “Chicago.” Both drew a great applause from the audience!

ISF 2008 Graduate Already Working for NASA

Kathryn Schuck, ISF student in Class of 2008 and sophomore at Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, has been selected as one of two undergraduate students to work on a small portion of the next Space Rover for NASA. As described on NASA’s Space Center website, “In June of 2005, NASA officials and Lehigh University in Bethlehem, Pa., announced a joint-research agreement that will give NASA researchers access to Lehigh’s cutting-edge nanotechnology and electron microscopy facilities. The collaboration will help NASA develop technologies for the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), which is scheduled to replace the renowned Hubble Space Telescope in 2011, as well as for Mars rovers and other spacecraft.

The unique facilities at Lehigh’s Center for Advanced Materials and Nanotechnology provide an excellent opportunity for NASA to expand its capabilities without incurring the expense of having to build or acquire the facilities. “It takes time and money to build labs like Lehigh’s,” says researcher Dr. Brian Jamieson of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “We often work with universities, and agreements like this one let NASA benefit from their investment while giving something back to the school.”

The partnership also gives Lehigh students and faculty the chance to conduct real-world research with NASA.”  ISF is very proud that Kathryn, an excellent student, will have the opportunity to do research at Lehigh in this area which was always a part of Kathryn’s dream.

Grade 7 Team Building Workshop Full of Fun and Learning

Lots of fun and learning took place Saturday, 26 September, as 65 grade 7 students came for a Team Building Workshop presented by Mr. Scholz- Beitz, Mr. May and Mr. Tobias. The purpose of team building training is to teach students how to cooperate and work together effectively. Team building also promotes camaraderie, cooperation, collaboration, problem solving, and critical thinking. All students who attended will receive a certificate of completion and the maximum number of SLOTM points for such an event.

Please note that a Team Building Workshop is scheduled for students in grade 8 on Saturday, October 24, 09:30-13:30. This is a half-day event (morning), with a pizza lunch provided at the end. It is ISF's goal that ALL children from grade 8 will attend this very worthwhile event. The purpose of team building training is to teach students how to cooperate and work together effectively. Team building also promotes problem solving and critical thinking. By attending the training, students will receive a certificate of completion and will also receive the maximum number of SLOTM points for such an event.

Cross Country PE Competition was fun!

Our Cross Country competition in all grades from 3 – 10 took place for the second year and was once again perfectly supported by parents, ISF Sportverein and weather.

The team ran 2 – 3 km depending on grade and gender and had a few exceptional records like Dimitri Doublidis, Grade 9, who crossed the finish line with 11.29 min. after 3 km. Apart from records and positions, the focus was also on pushing individual limits, which meant extending the course of the runners.

We want to take the chance to THANK all of our helpers during this event.  Our special thanks go to:
• Parent Network – Ms. Sasu for contacting the parents and to all the helpful. parents for timekeeping, parking place check, and motivating our students.
• SV-ISF - Uli Groh and Georg Hufnagel for their support with man power.
• Computing – Mr. Lothian's help for recording results.
• Security – for keeping an eye on the cone way preparations.
• Housekeeping – for disposing of the additional dirt in changing rooms and hall way.
• Heike Tobias – for taking pictures of the event.

• Mother Nature – for sparing us a rainy event.

With best regards,

The PE Team

Grade 12 Has Team Building Workshop in Garmisch Partenkirchen

The weather forecast for the senior weekend bonding trip was for rain, normally not what one looks forward to on this type of excursion. The bus ride to Garmisch-Partenkirchen was time consuming (and wet) to say the least. But even these negative factors could not spoil what turned out to be a fantastic weekend.

The group arrived at the Jugendherberge in a drizzle; everyone settled into a room and had dinner. Afterwards, the “PepperBlue” guides arrived and led the group through a few indoor bonding exercises. Saturday was absolutely beautiful consisting of long treks and team-building exercises. Challenges, both physical and psychological, presented themselves and were met enthusiastically and confidently.

The students, after a long and tiring day at the Kletterwald, were then in charge of a bar-b-que which all survived! Eight o'clock in the evening chimed in with a night hike to ruins giving everyone a beautiful view of the surrounding area, an absolutely gorgeous heavenly night sky and a romantic moonrise over the mountains – a long day and night enjoyed by all.

On Sunday students were responsible for room cleanup before breakfast, and the group signed out of the Jugendherberge and made their way to the Partnachklamm where we spent the morning hiking through the gorge and over the mountains. It all ended too soon. Ask a 12th grader what he or she experienced on this trip and you will get a variety of responses, but one can guarantee that each will contain many positive adjectives. On behalf of the chaperones who tagged along, Mrs. Groh would like to thank the senior class of 2010 for sharing what turned out to be one of the best bonding trips ever, and not just because the weather turned out to be beautiful. And of course, a special Thank You goes to Uli Groh for organising the whole event.


Run-A-Thon Raises over 1200€ for Multiple Sclerosis

After school on Wednesday 9th September, SLO™, in conjunction with the ISF Sportverein, held a wonderful afternoon of fun activities, with a run-a-thon as the focus.   The run-a-thon was held to raise money to support our new English teacher, Jonathan Rees, who will be running for Multiple Sclerosis at the Berlin Marathon on Sunday September 20th.

The run-a-thon attracted students, parents and teachers of all ages who ran a total of 706 laps of the ISF track. In addition, SLO™ sold ice-cream (generously donated by the Klügling family), students had the chance to soak a teacher with wet sponges, and several school rock bands provided musical entertainment. Money is still streaming in from the runners' sponsorship, and Mr. Rees is ecstatic to have already raised over 1200€. It was a wonderful day, and Mr. Rees will be very happy to hand over the money to the Multiple Sclerosis society to aid them in research and family support. Keep your eyes peeled for the next afterschool event coming during the winter. It will be another wonderful afternoon not to be missed!

9th Annual Newcomers Festival on October 4 in Frankfurt City Hall (Römer)

This year’s Newcomers Festival will take place on Sunday 4 October from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. at Frankfurt’s City Hall (Römer), Römerberg 23, 60311 Frankfurt/Main. Last year’s Newcomers Festival was a tremendous success attracting more than 5,000 visitors and 95 exhibitors.

The Newcomers Festival consists of an extensive exhibition of services, clubs and organizations in the area. It is designed to be a family-oriented and informative event that allows the international community to discover the attractiveness and diversity of the region as a business location.

Parallel to the exhibition, seminars and workshops present practical information about living and working in Frankfurt-Rhein-Main. In addition, there is musical entertainment, as well as food and drink reflecting the local gastronomy. Admission to the event is free.  For more information, please visit: www.newcomers-festival.de.

1. SV ISF Sponsorship Run

New ISF English Teacher Mr. Rees is appealing for sponsorship for the charity Multiple Sclerosis, a terrible muscle-wasting illness that can affect both old and young people.  All money raised will go directly to the charity and help fund research into curing the illness along with providing those affected with the facilities needed to lead as normal a life as possible.

Mr. Rees aims to raise 500€ to support the runners at the first Sportverein ISF Sponsorship Run on Wednesday, September 9th from 15:30-18:00. For more information as to how to donate, please contact sportsverein@isf-sabis.net.

Start of the 2009/2010 School Year

Back-to-School Night
Tuesday, September 1st, Kindergarten from 19:00 - 20:30h
Thursday, September 3rd, Grades 1 to 6 from 19:00 - 20:30h
This is an opportunity for parents to meet teachers and hear a brief presentation about the curriculum their children will study this school year.

Monday, August 24, 2009
“First Day” - Grade 5 to Grade 12 at 08:15h
Students, upon arrival, should wait for the bell in their designated areas (grades 5 and 6 on the Primary Playground, grades 7 to 12 on the Secondary Playground). This first day will be a full day for everyone – ending at 16:10h.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
“First Day” - Grade 2-4 at 08:15h
Students, upon arrival, should wait for the bell in their designated area (on the Primary Playground). This first day will be a full day for everyone – ending at 15:25h.

Tuesday, August 25, 2009
“First Day” - Grade 1 at 09:30h
The Grade 1 students and their families will start their first day of Primary School at 9:30h with a brief, traditional German welcome ceremony ending about 10:15h (Between 09:00h and 9:30h there will be a “Welcome Coffee” provided by the Parent Network in the courtyard outside the theatre). Families are invited to join their children for this special occasion. During this ceremony, Grade 1 students will receive a traditional "Schultüte" which the Parent Network will kindly supply. This is a large conical bag of sweets and school supplies given to children on their "Erster Schultag" (first day) of Primary School. Families are invited to join their children for this special occasion. A professional photographer will take individual and class pictures later in the day - therefore the children should come smartly dressed. The Grade 1 students will have a "normal" school day after the welcome ceremony – ending at 15:25h.

Wednesday, August 26, 2009
“First Day” - Kindergarten at 08:15h
Students and parents, upon arrival, should wait on the KG playground until called to the classrooms at 08:15h. This first day will be a full day for everyone – ending at 15:25h (15:05h for KG1).

ISF Parent Network Welcomes All New and Returning Parents

All Grade 5-12 parents are invited by the Parent Network (PN) for a coffee and meet and greet on Monday, August 24th at 8:30 in the large cafeteria.  All KG1/KG2 and Grade 1-4 parents are welcomed on Wednesday , August 26th at 8:30 in the large school cafeteria.

During this Parent Orientation Meeting, the PN would like to share with the ISF community basic information about the ISF Parent Network and its role to make the transition into a new country and/or school a little smoother.

ISF Dress Code clothing available through Lands' End!

We have worked closely with members of the ISF Parent Network and our student body to agree on this range of high quality dress items.  After several introductory fashion shows by our volunteer student models, our pupils, parents, and teachers have responded very positively to all of these dress code items.

Starting with the 2009/10 academic year, the Sports Dress Code items (designated polo shirt and athletic shorts) are mandatory for all pupils taking PE at ISF, and we expect all pupils to have them as part of their school equipment.  Lands’ end will automatically add an ISF logo to these polo shirts only.  All other items may be purchased at your discretion, and for each item chosen, you may decide to add an ISF logo or not.  To measure your child, please click on the image to download the PDF packed with information.

All families will receive a 10% first purchase discount by using the following gift certificate code: 9PS3G6X2. Simply right click on the links below and select “save target as“ to download a brochure and/or form to your computer.  Then enter the code into the Excel order form; your discount is automatically deducted from the total.

Brochure - English                                     Order Form - English

Broschuere - Deutsch                                Bestell Formular - Deutsch

Bestell Formular (kleines Kind) - Deutsch    For a Great Fit

Your completed order form may then be e-mailed to the e-mail address given on the form, or printed out and faxed or posted.  All of these docucments are now also permanently on the Admissions page of the ISF web site.

When you set up your customer account, you will automatically get a 10% first time buyer discount from the system. If you forget to use the code it will still be applied.

We hope that you and your children will enjoy browsing through this new catalogue together and will choose a range of school dress code items that please you.

Angus Slesser, ISF School Director

University Visits 2009-10, 2nd Half

Visits from universities to ISF will in most cases take place after school this year at 4:00 p.m. due to ISF students’ busy timetables. This will allow students from lower grades to participate as well. First visits are planned as follows:

*Sign up required

**in the ISF Theater
***Takes place at FIS for Grade 11 students wishing to apply to the UK.  Sign up required.  Teachers will accompany the registered students.

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